As Time Goes By Redux The Promise
by speshulduck
Summary: An alternate universe take on the episode 'As Time Goes By.' Joseph comes back, but things have changed for Olga.
1. Part One

title: as time goes by redux - the promise  
  
author: duck  
  
category: angst and romance  
  
summary: an alternate universe take on the episode as time goes by. joseph comes back, but things have changed a lot more for olga.  
  
author's note: i've moved the episode to about the second season or so instead of the first. fits better in the timeline. oh, and i had no idea if if it was "josef" or "joseph," so i went with joseph. if someone informs me otherwise i'll change it. soundtrack listed at the end of each part.  
  
disclaimer: i don't own seven days...if i did it'd be out on dvd. anyway, i don't own any of the characters, the episode in which this is set, etc etc. i can barely afford college, so why sue me? great, glad we got that out of the way.  
  
Frank B. Parker, the world's only surviving and functional chrononaut, lay face down on the bed most of the way to passed out. The alcohol binge last night was probably a bad idea, he mused to himself. He'd passed out already of course, and he was regretting ever waking up. But hey, when you had something to celebrate, might as well go all out.  
  
He heard the door open and close. He groaned as it echoed in his ears to cannon shot noise level. Better yet, anti-tank missile-passing-within-an-inch-of-your-ear level. He forced his eyes open a slit and watched a very fuzzy form bend over him. A cool hand passed over his forehead and he mumbled incoherently.  
  
"I told you so."  
  
"I thought you weren't ever going to say that," Frank got out, becoming more alert by the second.  
  
"And you weren't ever going to drink this much," came the even reply. The slim and very feminine form slid next to him in the bed. "Oh Frank," she sighed as she kissed his forehead, recently deprived of her hand.  
  
"Don't 'oh Frank' me, Olga," he warned halfheartedly before snuggling himself closer to her. He closed his eyes again as he rested his nose against hers. "Mmm, I love you."  
  
"If you really loved me you'd stop drinking so much and get some help," she chastised lightly. Her hand wandered over and up his back, finally settling in his hair.  
  
"Now who's the manipulative one?" he asked, one eye opening lazily. It didn't do much good, even in the semi-darkness, so he closed it.  
  
"Frank I'm serious," she said firmly, running her hand through his hair. "As your doctor I'm telling you it's not healthy to drink that much."  
  
"I don't do it that often. It's not like I can get much here anyway." She sensed his irritation immediately.  
  
"Don't get defensive, Frank. I'm only trying to help because I care about you." Her hand stopped moving.  
  
"If you really cared you'd leave me alone," he mocked.  
  
"Fine, if that's how you feel about it, I'll leave." She moved to stand up but he stopped her with a splayed hand to the back. The effort cost him the renewal of the pounding headaches, but it was worth it.  
  
"Olga, wait, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." She remained crouched on the bed. "I promise I'll try to give the alcohol a rest, okay? Not drink so much each time." Hell he might even stick to it if his hangovers were going to be this bad.  
  
"You can't just quit like that," she said, her tone half accusing. "You need help...a support group."  
  
"Hey, I have you don't I?"  
  
He felt her body's tension decrease under his hand as she lowered herself down next to him. "I suppose you do at that." She sighed loudly. "What am I ever going to do with you?" she asked lightly.  
  
"Love me and hope for the best?" he answered, pulling her into a tight embrace.  
  
"Yes, well, we do have a lot to talk about."  
  
"The future is quite uncertain for us," he said observantly.  
  
"Thank you Captain Obvious." He could practically hear her eyes roll. "I did use that correctly?" Her Russian accent lilted uncertainly.  
  
"Yes, Olga, perfectly," he said chuckling. He kissed the top of her head and was quiet for a moment.  
  
"So..." she trailed off hesitantly.  
  
"Yeah, so..." Frank reached up and flipped on the bedside light. He realized his eyes were getting better when he looked down and could make out his quizzical expression mirrored on her face.  
  
"Incidentally, what are we supposed to talk about in this situation?" she finally asked.  
  
"Y'know, I'm really not sure. People make a big deal out of it, but I think the only thing to really talk about is what we're going to do in the immediate future."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well you take it easy for about seven months...then chaos sets in. We never sleep, we don't get to go anywhere, do anything. No fun, nothing." The headache was getting worse just thinking about it. Hell no one on the base knew yet that he and Olga were even together, much less about to drop a bomb roughly the size of a breadbox on the well-ordered machinery that was Never Never Land. Give it a couple weeks though and people would begin to notice.  
  
He let go of Olga and repositioned himself so he could talk to her stomach. "You hear that, little one? You're going to totally screw up our lives and we're going to enjoy every second of it. Even when you wake us up in the middle of the night crying for no reason." He gently kissed the t-shirt that lie loosely over her midriff and moved back up to arrange himself next to her. A slight frown creased her features. He was instantly concerned. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Frank," she began, but bit her lip, unable to continue.  
  
"What?" He cupped her cheek with his hand.  
  
"There's an 'us' to come back to now, instead of just a me. What am I going to do if you don't come back?"  
  
"Oh." He lay quietly for a moment. "This is about Joseph, isn't it?" She had explained it all to him when they first admitted how they felt. Part of the reason she was so stubborn at first against anything involving the two of them was because she'd already lost one chrononaut she'd loved and didn't want to do it again.  
  
"I suppose. You can't blame me for being leery. I know the Backstep program here is much safer because of the alien technology, but still...almost everyone died until you came along." He smiled reassuringly as he wiped away a single tear that tracked down her cheek.  
  
"There's this song that I really like, Olga. It makes me think of you. About love and all that other good stuff, but the real kicker is the promise the singer makes. I'll make that same promise to you right here and now, sworn on our unborn child--" he slid his hand over her stomach "--that 'I'll find my way back to you if you'll be waiting...I vow to come for you, if you will wait for me.'"  
  
"But how can you promise that?"  
  
"Because I can," he shrugged. "All you have to do is...how did she put it...'hold a place for me in your heart.'"  
  
"And you'll always come back?"  
  
"Yup. I promise." He dismissed the topic with a kiss and said, "Now, there is one more thing." The phone cut off what he was about to say, and he rolled his eyes and answered it. "Parker."  
  
Olga watched the expression on his face change from vague annoyance to incredulity. "No way...really?" His eyes widened in surprise. "I'll be right there."  
  
"What is it?" she asked as Frank rose from the bed and began to throw on clothes.  
  
"Get up," he said, "something's crashed in the desert. They're bringing it in now. They think it's an alien craft. Donovan and I are going in first." The excitement in his voice was enough to rouse her, even if his words had not been.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
They were at the hangar only moments later, Olga huffing slightly out of breath. Everyone was scrambling everywhere and over everything. Only Talmadge stood still, his carriage stoically ramrod straight with pride flaming in his eyes as he surveyed the floor. Donovan was striding towards them, a wide grin splitting his face.  
  
"We gotta get suited up, buddy, we're goin' in!" he crowed happily. "They want you over there, Olga," he continued, pointing his finger in the direction of Talmadge and the rest. "You'll be monitoring vitals and all that."  
  
"Good luck to the both you," she said nodding and slipping a small smile to Frank. He caught it and returned a wink and a cocky grin.  
  
It was a few minutes before Donovan and Frank finished suiting up and entered the craft. She used the time to get up to speed and she thought she was ready to go when they entered the ship. But as Frank discovered the decidedly human passenger, the face that floated onto the screen was not one she was prepared to see. As the horror of what was going on began to sink in to her shocked psyche, words slipped out too low to be heard by even Ballard sitting closest to her. "Joseph...oh God, Frank."  
  
And all went black.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"--hat---ppened?"  
  
"----said some-----ouldn't hea---------fell."  
  
The voices faded in and out as colors began to swim in front of her eyes. Something tugged at the back of her memory like a cord, yanking and straining to get her attention. She mumbled the words that flew to her unconsciously.  
  
"Wha------she--say?"  
  
"----I think----Joseph? -----who's tha---"  
  
At the name spoken she shot awake through the layers of darkness and bright colors to gasp for breath, a death grip on someone's arm. Another arm came around to support her shoulders as she sat up. Frank's face came into sharp focus as he said, "Joseph you mean?" Fearful eyes looked out from under his raised eyebrows as she nodded. She followed his gaze as it swung to the craft were a limping and bedraggled man was being helped out.  
  
Her left hand didn't loosen its death grip on Frank's arm, but her right reached out almost longingly to the figure. Frank scooped her up in one quick motion. "Nuh-uh," he cautioned. "Not till a doctor looks at *you* first."  
  
She tried to protest, but couldn't get much further than a disgruntled "hmmph" before she settled into his arms, content to let someone else deal with it for the time being.  
  
Frank for his part strode past Joseph and his escort without sparing him even a glance.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Who is this 'Joseph' character?" Ramsey downed half a glass of water in one gulp and glanced around at the other occupants of the briefing room. "And what the hell is he doing here anyway?"  
  
"Joseph Vukavitch was a chrononaut from the Russian time travel program," Isaac filled in. "He was also Olga's husband. He disappeared when they attempted a forward jump in time, along with their craft. It was essentially the deathblow for the program."  
  
"Huh, looks like your chances just went to zip with Olga, Parker," Ramsey snorted.  
  
"Shut up, Ramsey," Frank said irritably. "I already knew about him. But that still doesn't answer what he's doing here now though."  
  
"Perhaps this is where he ended up in time," Donovan suggested. He swiveled in his chair to face Ballard. "What's the conclusion on his ship?"  
  
"It's far too advanced to have come from the past. There's some equipment on board that I can't even recognize and I think it's powered by a photon reactor." Ballard grinned with excitement. "It's much better than what we originally tested with and if I can study it in depth, I might be able to incorporate it with the alien technology. Stabilize it you know, for longer backsteps. I've got a whole lot of ideas just bouncing around--"  
  
"Great, Dr. Ballard," Talmadge interrupted. "You and your team get to work immediately on it. In the meantime, the doctors inform me Joseph has woken. Olga is with him now."  
  
Frank went suddenly very straight in his chair. "Are you sure that's a good idea sir? We still don't even know if he's on our side. Can we even trust him? Last thing he knew the US was the enemy." Everyone was quiet for a moment. "This doesn't sound totally crazy, does it?"  
  
"For once Parker, you and I agree on something," Ramsey muttered. "Damn communists."  
  
"I don't think we have to worry about him, Frank," Talmadge reassured. "If he really is from the future then he'd know that hostilities have been over between the US and Russia for a while now."  
  
"Unless they were resumed in the future," Frank said darkly. He glared at the staring faces and interpreted their looks as he knew they probably intended. "I'm not saying these things 'cause I'm jealous or anything."  
  
"No one said you were, Frank," Donovan said quietly.  
  
"But you all thought it. Well I'm not, end of story." Frank got up abruptly. "I think I'll go see our other time traveler. Got a few questions for the only other man who's ever done it and not died." He left without another word.  
  
"Something's up with him," Donovan said after Frank had left. "The only other time I've seen him get this jealous was with his ex-wife."  
  
"What are you trying to say about Parker?" Ramsey asked. "The way I see it he's the only other one talking some sense. Never thought I'd say that." He rubbed the back of his neck ruefully.  
  
"Keep an eye on him, Craig," Talmadge said in the decisive tone that said he'd made a final decision. "You see or hear anything out of the ordinary, let me know. If it will make you feel better, Nate," he continued, addressing Ramsey, "assign a security detail to Dr. Vukavitch. I hope he will accept an invitation to join our team, but until then perhaps he does need to be monitored."  
  
"You're offering him a position here?!" Ramsey spat out incredulously. "Aside from it being insane to offer a Russian a place in a highly classified US facility, we'll lose Parker over this! Mark my words, he'll be gone or need to be sent back to Hansen Island before the week's out."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Frank was at that moment staring through a glass window into Joseph Vukavitch's room in the medical center. His features were clouded with a strange mixture of uncertainty and dread. Joseph was awake and talking to Olga, often reaching out to touch her face. Frank exhaled sharply, then raised his fist to knock politely. Olga turned away from Joseph, eyes filling with tears as she looked at the door. Frank still stood with his knuckles to the glass caught in the instant before knocking. Their eyes connected for a brief moment and she wiped her tears away with a quick swipe and turned back to Joseph. They spoke for a second and she rose heading towards the door.  
  
"I need to talk to you," she said quietly once she'd shut the door behind her.  
  
"You're leaving me to go back to him, aren't you?" He said it so softly he could tell she was about to ask him to repeat it when the words registered in her mind. Her eyes shifted away from him as she bit her lip. It was all the answer he needed. He turned to go, but she caught his arm.  
  
"Don't--"  
  
"What, leave you this way? Don't go? What else do you want from me, Olga?" She shushed him furtively and glanced around. He continued at a hoarse whisper. "I have given everything I can to you. You are pregnant with my child. I...I love you. I don't know why you're doing this."  
  
"I love you, and I love him. Don't you dare think that this isn't hard for me." She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. "But I have an obligation to him. I am still married to him, Frank."  
  
"Then get a divorce."  
  
"I can't just get a divorce like that."  
  
"Well what about our kid?" The cool fury in Frank's voice grew with every word.  
  
"Joseph said it was okay, that he understood. He doesn't mind--"  
  
"Well *I* mind, Olga. Jimmy's being raised by another man and so help me God this one isn't."  
  
"It doesn't have to be that way, Frank." Olga half turned away, refusing to meet his eyes.  
  
"I can already tell it's going to be," Frank hissed.  
  
"Then I guess we don't really have much left to say right now," Olga said, finally looking at him with a glare.  
  
"Yeah, I guess we're done here, *Dr.* Vukavitch." He turned to go again and this time she let him.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Donovan found Frank in his room an hour later downing a beer with the stereo blasting. He counted six cans on the floor, tossed haphazardly in the direction of the trashcan. None had made it in.  
  
"Frank, what are you doing?" he asked, shock evident in his voice. "It's four in the afternoon!"  
  
"Never too early to start drinking, my friend," Frank said as he crunched his latest conquest in his fist and threw it hard against the wall. "Not when you've got a damn good reason anyhow." His speech was surprisingly clear for someone who'd had seven beers.  
  
"You never saw Joseph Vukavitch, did you?" Donovan asked suspiciously. "You came straight here after the meeting and started in."  
  
"Oh no," Frank protested, a sloppy grin burst onto his features. "I went to the...place with the docs and stuff. Saw the two of 'em talkin' and everything. All happy-like." He frowned. "She's leavin' me and I don't know what to do about it." His eyes had gone blank like he was staring into nothing.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about Frank?" Donovan crossed the room in three quick strides and grabbed his shoulder. "Get a hold of yourself, Frank."  
  
Frank's expressionless gaze swung to his friend. "She's. Leaving. Me," he pronounced slowly. "There's really nothing left for me to do but drink myself to death."  
  
"Well you ain't gonna do it with beer," Donovan pointed out.  
  
"Naw, the vodka helped some too," Frank said, eyes beginning to roll back into his head. Donovan smacked him in the face.  
  
"Stay with me here, Frank." He glanced around and saw the almost empty fifth of vodka sitting on the desk. "Oh shit," he let out softly. He reached the phone just as Frank hit the floor with loud thud.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Frank was trying to kill himself?" Talmadge asked incredulously. "If he were, Craig, he'd have to be removed from the program until he'd undergone psychological analysis. He might not be let back in ever."  
  
Donovan shifted on his feet and glanced around Talmadge's office before offering a response. "I'm not saying he was really trying to kill himself with alcohol, it's just...well, I don't think having Joseph Vukavitch around is exactly great for Frank right now. I've never seen him get this way over a woman he has his eye on before." He shifted awkwardly again. "I think there might have been more going on than anyone thought."  
  
"Between the two of them, you mean?" Donovan nodded mutely. "How much more?" Talmadge asked.  
  
"He said she was leaving him," Donovan offered.  
  
"Well that certainly implies a lot." Talmadge puffed his ever-present cigar thoughtfully.  
  
"Would you like me to go sit with him until he wakes up?" Donovan asked.  
  
"He's just had his stomach pumped, I don't think he'll be going anywhere for a couple days." Talmadge caught the meaning of the look Donovan shot him. "On second thought, yes. Knowing Frank he'll be out of there before we realize it."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Frank stood with his arms crossed in the deserted hangar, staring at the sphere. His eyes betrayed a certain level of wistfulness, but the hard line of his mouth and posture conveyed otherwise. A small travel bag lay at his feet, his possessions ready to go wherever his feet could take him. His heart would stay here though, with this sphere and a certain director of medical research.  
  
He could hear a door open somewhere behind him, but didn't waste his energy turning around to see whom it was. Footsteps traced a path in his hearing towards him and he still didn't turn around.  
  
"I thought I'd find you hear."  
  
"You of all people should know what I'm doing." He remained facing the sphere, defiantly refusing to look at her.  
  
"Saying goodbye?"  
  
"Something like that."  
  
"Were you going to at least say goodbye to me?"  
  
"I didn't think it needed to be said again." He dropped his chin slightly as her arms slid around his. He could feel the heat of her pressed into his back.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Frank," she half sobbed. Her cheek pressed into his shoulder blade, but he still stood with his arms crossed. "It's just that...what Joseph told me...about us, you and I I mean. The pain you put me through in the future."  
  
"I would never have left you," Frank said flatly. A hatred was beginning to flame in his mind. Every word Olga said was fanning it more and more.  
  
"But you did, Frank. And then you died on a mission. You went out to save the world again and you didn't come back and it hurt me worse than leaving me because you'd promised you'd always come back to me and our son and you didn't." She cut herself off with a strangled cry. He could feel a wet spot growing on the back of his shirt where she was crying. The hatred he was feeling for Joseph abated as his love for Olga swelled up unbidden. He uncrossed his arms and squeezed her arms gently. He let his hands rest there as she continued to sob into his back.  
  
"Olga I'm sorry," he finally said, turning to pull her into his arms. He kissed her forehead gently. "I would have never left you, you know; I love you too damn much." He leaned down and gave a kiss on the lips, surprised by the fervor with which she returned it. "Whew," he said when their lips had parted, "I swore I was never gonna do that to a married woman again unless she was married to me."  
  
Olga smiled through her tears as he rested his forehead against hers. He kissed her face under both her eyes. "Hey, like Snoopy says, everyone needs someone to kiss away their tears." She laughed this time. "That's what I like to hear," he said wiping away the rest of her tears.  
  
"Promise me you'll visit," she pleaded. "I can't stand the thought of never seeing you again."  
  
He knew she understood his reasons for going and that it was pointless to try to stop him. "I will, I promise." He looked down at her stomach and said, "And for God's sake, don't let the kid turn out like me."  
  
"He had better be exactly like you," she said, cocking an eyebrow, daring him to contradict her. Knowing he wouldn't. He kissed her one last time, then slipped from the embrace. With a longing look back, he forced himself to walk out the door. He didn't see the tears that flowed anew down her face.  
  
[end part one]  
  
part one soundtrack:  
  
tracy chapman - the promise  
  
linkin park - my{dsmbr (reanimation remix)  
  
dirty vegas - days go by (acoustic)  
  
jimmy eat world - hear you me 


	2. Part Two

title: as time goes by redux - the promise  
  
author: erail beki, jedi knight  
  
part two soundtrack listed at end.  
  
author's note: i wasn't going to bother finishing this after seven days wasn't on spike tv for a while, but then it came back on and i got a couple good reviews. this is only for the people who reviewed :) thanks  
  
[part two...see part one for disclaimer/summary.]  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Four Days Later  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Frank B. Parker, currently unemployed and single, lay face down on the motel bed, nowhere near passing out. He hadn't touched alcohol in the four days he'd been gone from NNL...and her...but damn did he need it. He rolled over to his back and stared at the ceiling for a while. The bright lights of Las Vegas flashed through the window, but he made no move to close the curtains.  
  
Hard to believe it had been four whole days that he'd spent laying here, trying to figure out what the hell to do with his life. It wasn't a question most 30 year olds grappled with, especially one of his experience. He grunted to himself as he realized this was probably what Vietnam vets felt after they came home. Society wasn't exactly going to welcome him with open arms; all he knew how to do was kill people.  
  
A small voice in the back of his head (which had a suspicious Russian accent) reminded him he had other skills. He pushed it down and grabbed the tv remote, intent on distracting himself from this morose brooding. It was not characteristic of him and it made him think he might hate himself.  
  
He mindlessly flipped the channels, making an effort to avoid the news, bad sitcoms, and horrible dramas. As that left him the History and Discovery Channels, he decided to hope for Monster Garage. Unfortunately, all that was on was some special on the scientific impossibility of time travel. He laughed bleakly and switched to the History Channel. He let his mind get lost in the mindless learning of World War II battle tactics. Late night programming never afforded many choices.  
  
He had almost drifted off to sleep when a loud banging on the door woke him. He shot up and was at the door in two steps. He opened it cautiously to find-- "Donovan?"  
  
"Hey, buddy," he said quietly, pushing past Frank into the room.  
  
"How'd you find me?" Frank asked, flicking the off button on the remote.  
  
"Not really hard, Frank," Donovan replied, still quiet.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. When you have the resources of the NSA, I bet it's not," Frank said, his tone flat.  
  
"We have a problem," Donovan continued as if Frank hadn't spoken. "You and Ramsey were right."  
  
"About?" A nameless fear bubbled up inside Frank as his fists clenched unconsciously. "Please tell me you're not going to say what I think you're going to."  
  
"You were right about Joseph, Frank." Donovan said, his eyes downcast. "Ballard's dead, the fuel source has been stolen." He looked up. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, buddy." Frank could feel his fingernails digging into the palms of his hands. "He...did something to Olga, hit her in the stomach I think...she had a miscarriage, Frank."  
  
Frank's teeth ground together suddenly. He stood quietly for a moment, his features twisting. Donovan jumped slightly as Frank abruptly spun and put a fist through the wall.  
  
"I will kill him," he enunciated slowly. Donovan shook his head slightly.  
  
"He went forward in time with the power source."  
  
"Can we Backstep?"  
  
"There's a chance we may be able to," Donovan replied. "There's some residual power left, but we're not sure how much or how far it will take you."  
  
"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Frank asked. He headed out the door and Donovan followed him, his features more grim than when he'd come in.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Frank experienced a mild wave of deja vu as he reached out to knock softly on the door to Olga's room. Through the glass he could see her pale face turn to face him. A tear spilled down her cheek as he entered the room. He crossed it quickly and pulled her into a hug as she started crying. She clung tightly to him and cried hard for several minutes as he stroked her back reassuringly and murmured soft words of comfort into her hair.  
  
When the cries of anguish had been reduced to quiet weeping, she finally pulled away, her red-rimmed eyes boring into his. "We were going to have twins, Frank."  
  
"Twins?" he asked, mildly surprised.  
  
"Yes, and he killed them. He couldn't stand the fact that they were yours and not his." Her expression turned savage. "If I ever see him again--"  
  
"Don't finish that sentence, Olga," Frank warned. "You may not like yourself if you do. I'll take care of it." He could tell she finished it to herself anyway, even as she nodded to him.  
  
She reached over to the table next to the bed and picked up her wedding ring. Handing it to him, she said, "Give this to me when you backstep. I won't believe you if you don't."  
  
He nodded his understanding and pocketed it. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. "I should have fought harder for you."  
  
"Do *not* blame yourself, Frank. This is my fault," Olga said.  
  
"Is not," he replied.  
  
"Is so."  
  
"Is not."  
  
Despite the recent events, they couldn't help the half smiles that broke out onto their faces.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said softly, eyes focused on his lips. She reached out and grazed them with light fingertips. "I should have listened to you."  
  
"It's a shame," he said, kissing her fingers.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You won't remember saying that," he said, cocky grin firmly back in place.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
The Backstep hurt worse than any yet, but Frank gritted his teeth and manhandled the control stick into doing what he wanted. He could feel his suspension from temporal events slip and he slammed into the time continuum with the rush that made him feel like he was stretched through a thousand moments at once. He gasped for breath as the Sphere shook, rubbing against the atmosphere in the friction-filled blast of re-entry. Sweat poured down his face mingling with the blood leaking from his eyes and nose.  
  
"Just a little to the left, now up, you goddamn sonofa--" he muttered to himself as he focused on the needles, willing them into place. The Sphere rocked with the impact against solid ground and Frank felt his body thrown against his harness. He hung forward, suspended in it for a moment before smacking the release in the middle of his chest.  
  
Gravity seized hold of his body and he tumbled forward into his panel, helmet thudding hollowly against the readout. The sound rang in his ears as he yanked hard on the hatch release, blowing the hatch outward. He pushed himself off the controls and jumped down the few feet to the open hatch, which was fortunately a few inches off the ground. He stepped through and yanked out his GPS at the same time, helmet still in hand. He tossed it down in disgust after realizing it was smoking ominously. He looked around, determined to navigate by the setting sun if he had to.   
  
A glittering expanse of white caught his eye to the east and he turned to face it, taking a few steps as he did. He whooped with delight as he realized it was NNL and began stripping off his flight suit. He left it and his helmet lying in an undignified heap next to the sphere. He started running towards the base, steeling himself for the task ahead of him. Each step that ground into the Nevada desert sent a fresh shock of resolve through his mind that Joseph Vukavitch would be dead before the sun could rise again.  
  
He stopped an intern obviously on her way home and demanded the date.  
  
"Tuesday," she replied, no trace of surprise on her face.  
  
"Dammit," he muttered under his breath. "Only three days."  
  
"What happened?" she asked politely. Before he could answer, he caught sight of Ramsey coming down the hall towards him.  
  
"Ramsey!" he yelled. "Where's Vukavitch?"  
  
"Briefing room," Ramsey answered, taking in Frank's appearance as calmly as the intern had. "Did you backstep because of that Commie?"  
  
"We were right, buddy," Frank said with a grimace. He resumed his jog, this time aiming for the briefing room. He arrived in only a few moments and could see the rest of the members of the team sitting around the table with the man Frank intended to pound into a bloody pulp.  
  
He burst through the glass doors with Ramsey close on his heels. He reached out and grabbed the nearest heavy object, a paperweight resting on the table, and threw it as hard as he could at Joseph's face. He ducked just in time and it went crashing into the window behind him, sending a spider web of cracks out from the impact point.  
  
"Get up," he snapped as his hands curled into fists. "So help me God, I'm going to kill you with my bare hands." Joseph's eyes cast around, searching for support.  
  
Talmadge stood up. "What happened Frank? Obviously there was a Backstep, what's your mission?"  
  
"To kill that sonofabitch," Frank snarled, pointing at Joseph, advancing on him as he did. Joseph scrambled backwards as quickly as he could.  
  
"Who are you?" Joseph asked as he stopped behind Olga's chair.  
  
"Your angel of death," he said, chuckling darkly. "Heh heh, sorry, I've always wanted to say that. The name's Frank B. Parker, chrononaut and man who is about to kill you."  
  
"There must be some mistake, Mr. Parker," he said, his accent thick. "I would not have done anything that warrants a Backstep, much less killing me."  
  
"Try stealing the power source for Project Backstep and murdering...people," Frank retorted sharply. He shifted his eyes to Olga briefly before returning his homicidal gaze to Joseph. She looked completely astonished at the events unfolding in front of her. He plucked her ring out of his pocket and tossed it to her. She caught it out reflex in her right hand, then looked at the ring finger on her left hand. She had obviously not noticed it vanish off her finger when Frank backstepped.  
  
"If that's true," Joseph said, hands on the back of her chair, "how could you possibly have backstepped?"  
  
"Residual power left over in the sphere," Frank answered. "Forgot about that, didn't you? I only went back three days, but it's enough to kill you for what you've done."  
  
"But I haven't done anything!" Joseph protested.  
  
"And you're not going to have the chance to, either," Frank assured him coolly. Donovan moved in behind him.  
  
"Frank, why don't you just calm down for a minute here," he said. "Just explain everything and we'll go from there." He put a hand on Frank's shoulder but he shrugged it off. Joseph, sensing a momentary lapse in Frank's attention, yanked Olga up out of her chair and held her in front of him. A knife appeared at her neck.  
  
"Try anything and I'll slit her throat," he yelled as he backed towards the door. Frank growled in the back of his throat, a primal sound he'd only ever had cause for in the heat of war. He took a step towards the pair, but his eyes locked onto Olga's wide frightened ones and he stopped moving. They were through the door and gone in the blink of his eye and he made a move to follow them, but Donovan restrained him.  
  
"He'll only go for one place Frank," he said. They looked at each other and said in unison, "The hangar."  
  
"But Dr. Ballard's down there," Isaac Mentnor interjected from his chair. He'd been quiet through out the entire exchange, but the worry was evident on his face. "He wouldn't--"  
  
"He did last time," Frank interrupted. "We have to get down there and stop him."  
  
"Got any ideas?" Donovan asked, cracking his knuckles in frustration.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Frank pushed open the door, careful to not let it make a noise. He slipped through it and closed it just as quietly. He held his gun out, cautiously peering over the edge of the railing. He'd come in by way of the roof, insisting he do this alone. They had protested, but all he'd allowed was a Delta Team led by Donovan standing by. He was going to have the pleasure of killing the man himself.  
  
He quickly scanned the hangar and saw Ballard with some strange weapon pointed at him tapping in the commands to open up the power source access point. He stole down the stairs, careful to note that Olga was standing only a few steps away, her hands gripped tightly together.  
  
"But Joseph I don't *want* to go into the future with you. Can't we just stay here? We can leave, you know, find a nice place in Russia and stay there where they can't get to us," he could hear her saying.  
  
"I do this for Mother Russia," Joseph said calmly. "I always knew the Americans had something that kept them ahead of us and now I know what it is. We're taking it back to the future and swinging the balance of power back to us."  
  
"But I thought you said--"  
  
"I lied. The future is another, bloodier Cold War, not all peace and happiness. I can't believe you all accepted that nonsense. I made my ship able to hold two occupants just for you, my beloved; there's no way we're not going."  
  
Frank crawled on his belly across the floor, winding his way behind the consoles and equipment to avoid being seen. He wasn't going to use his gun; he wanted to kill the bastard with his hands. He could hear the final click as the power source popped out and Joseph's triumphant shout. Frank risked peeking up and saw Olga pleading with him not to kill Ballard. Joseph shrugged and raised the gun. "Can't have you rebuilding it."  
  
"No!" Olga shouted and pushed Joseph. The weapon from the future swung out and smacked Ballard across the face. He slumped into unconsciousness.  
  
Frank wasn't close enough, but there wasn't and time to creep closer. He launched himself from ten feet away and slammed into the surprised Joseph. Both their guns went skittering across the floor. Joseph's came to rest at Olga's feet and Frank saw her pick it up before Joseph delivered a vicious kick to his face that sent him flying.  
  
He picked himself up off the floor as Joseph reached out to Olga, telling her to give him the gun. Frank knocked his feet out from under him and pummeled him on the ground. Joseph grabbed his wrists and twisted them away. They rolled around the floor, grappling like wrestlers, knees and feet flying trying to find purchase in human flesh. Joseph let go of Frank's wrist long enough to sock him in the face. Frank rolled away, momentarily stunned. His eyes rolled groggily in their sockets as he desperately tried to stay conscious.  
  
Joseph was telling Olga to give him the gun again. Frank could barely make out her face through the haze of pain, and he shoved himself to his knees as the whine of the weapon blasted in his ears. He flung his entire body upward, ready to tear Joseph's body apart piece by piece, but there was already a giant, smoking hole in his chest. His eyes stared vacantly up from his slumped position on the floor.  
  
The gun clattered to the floor and a strange wailing came from behind Frank. He turned and caught Olga, who was halfway to sinking to the floor. He lowered her the rest of the way and pulled her into an embrace, legs sprawled at awkward angles. She howled her anguish into his chest, hot tears coursing a river down his front. Deja vu kicked in again as he grasped her close and whispered how much he loved her into her ear.  
  
They stayed that way, clinging desperately to one another as the Delta Team stormed in, too late to stop anything. Too late to stop Frank from being a bullheaded idiot and forcing Olga to do what he'd meant to. He cursed himself in his head as he called for a sedative for the shell of a human being he cradled tenderly in his arms.  
  
"Give her something that will make her forget," he ordered the doctor that crouched down next to him. "No one should have to remember this." The doctor, a graying man in his forties, nodded, understanding shining sympathetically in his eyes.  
  
Once the sedative had done its work and Olga was safely unconscious in his arms, he picked her up and once more carried her to the hospital wing.  
  
"I've been doing this way too much recently," he mumbled under his breath to no one in particular.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Frank sat in a chair next to the bed that held the most important person in the world. Forget the president, forget religious leaders, forget the rich men whole controlled everything; the woman he loved more than life itself lay on the bed, unconscious and uncommunicative. He had been holding her hand since he sat down and he'd lost track of how long ago that had been.  
  
His thumb lovingly caressed her palm as he leaned over to rest his head on her bed. He was dead tired, but he refused to leave her bedside. He let his eyes slide shut...wasn't anything wrong with catching a few minutes of shut-eye as long as he didn't get up. He sighed deeply and moved his head closer to her. He quickly and gratefully slipped into the darkness of sleep.  
  
He woke what seemed like only seconds later to a gentle stroking in his hair. He looked up into beautiful blue eyes.  
  
"Hey, gorgeous," he asked grinning. "How long have you been awake?"  
  
"Only a few moments." Olga's gaze remained as serene and sedated as he'd seen it in a while. "What happened? The last thing I remember is..." she trailed off, visibly straining for a recollection just beyond her reach.  
  
"Do you remember Joseph? Me leaving?" Her eyelids fluttered as she processed it.  
  
"He came back from the future," she said haltingly. "You left because he came back." Her eyes widened as she remembered more. "You backstepped, but why?"  
  
"He took the alien power source, kidnapped you, killed Ballard." She shook her head vigorously at that.  
  
"No, Joseph would never--"  
  
"He did, Olga." His gaze dropped to her hands, which he'd tangled with his own. "He took you and ran. I had to kill him." He stared at her as earnestly as he could, willing her to accept it as the truth.  
  
"Did you do it purely out of vengeance, Frank?" she asked, her voice and eyes suddenly flat.  
  
"No, there was a fight," he said, pulling her hand up to his mouth and kissing it. "I would never have killed him solely for vengeance." Even as he said it, he knew it wasn't entirely true and she eyed him with a look that clearly said she knew it. "Well, okay, there were some vengeance issues there. He made you miscarry. And that hurt me, but more importantly you."  
  
"He...made me miscarry?"  
  
"Yeah, he hit you because he couldn't stand the fact that you were having someone else's kids."  
  
"Kids?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Plural...kids. Implies multiple children."  
  
"Oh yeah, well that." One eyebrow went up. Damn her for being so observant. "Um, we're gonna have twins."  
  
"So he was lying about us only having a son?"  
  
"In fact, we going to have two sons," Frank answered, grinning broadly.  
  
"You're quite proud of yourself, aren't you?" The baiting and familiar tone had returned to her voice. It overjoyed him to hear it.  
  
"Well yeah, I mean, who wouldn't be?"  
  
"Here I am having to do all the work and you're taking all the credit!" she exclaimed. "Typical for you, Frank."  
  
"Hey, sweetheart, I'll be here for you every step of the way." He kissed her lips this time. "So are you going to be okay with all that's happened?"  
  
"Honestly, I'm in too much shock to deal with it right now, so it'll probably come out later," she confessed. "Can we not talk about it anymore?"  
  
"Whenever you're ready to talk, just tell me." He leaned in for a longer kiss. "I'm here for the long-run, baby."  
  
"You'd better be," she admonished lightly. Her eyes rolled to the ceiling momentarily. "I guess this means we're found out, then?"  
  
"Yeah," he said, dragging it out. "And everyone's cool with it. Apparently Donovan won the betting pool retroactively." He laughed. "And Talmadge promised he'll keep it from the panel for as long as possible. He can't guarantee anything in the end when they do find out, but I'd quit before I lose you."  
  
"You already proved that," she said quietly.  
  
"I shoulda fought harder for you," he groaned, pulling her into his arms and feeling the overwhelming sense of deja vu that inevitably cropped up.  
  
"No, I should never have left you in the first place," she said bitterly from within the protective circle of his embrace.  
  
"Let's not dwell on this, okay?" He pulled back to look her in the eye. "I love you and I'm never letting you go again." She sniffled slightly and he wiped away the single tear that had welled up. "Now, there are several people that want to see how you're doing and congratulate you. You up to that?"  
  
"Only if you're with me," she said, allowing a half smile to break through the gloom that had settled around her face again.  
  
"I'll always be with you, Olga. I promised I'd always come back for you." He reached into pocket and continued. "Oh by the way, we got interrupted a few days ago and there was something I wanted to ask you."  
  
"What?"  
  
He took a deep breath and pulled out the ring. "If you'd marry me?"  
  
She eyed him suspiciously, not quite the reaction he was hoping for. "Is this only because I'm pregnant?"  
  
"Actually, I bought the ring about a month after our first official date, at least three months before you got pregnant," he said, mildly amused.  
  
"Then yes, I'll marry you." At his confused look she asked, "What?"  
  
"You're so matter-of-fact about it." He slipped the ring on her finger. "Perfect fit."  
  
"So were you!" she protested.  
  
"Was not!"  
  
"Oh sure, 'by the way, marry me?'" She glanced around at the hospital surroundings. "What a great place for a proposal!" She began to laugh and he felt his face flush. Something told him he'd just been had. She leaned over and kissed him. "It is perfect."  
  
"Olga, whatever am I going to do with you? This whole time I thought you were a frigid and unfeeling woman who didn't know how to take a joke, and now here you are making fun of *me.*"  
  
"You wouldn't have me any other way." She smiled warmly at him. "I love you, Frank Parker."  
  
"I will always love you, Olga."  
  
[the end]  
  
thanks for reading.  
  
part two soundtrack:  
  
static-x - december  
  
foo fighters - times like these (acoustic)  
  
dido - white flag 


End file.
